Romero Barceló, Carlos (1932–)

Carlos Romero Barceló (b. 4 September 1932), governor of Puerto Rico (1977–1980; 1981–1984). Romero Barceló was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy and at Yale University. He earned a law degree from the University of Puerto Rico in 1956. Romero Barceló helped found the nonpartisan coalition Ciudadanos Pro Estada 51 (Citizens for State 51), and in 1968 he was elected mayor of San Juan. First elected governor in 1976, he was an advocate of statehood for Puerto Rico. He believed that Puerto Rico as a commonwealth could not compete for federal funds, equal citizenship, and security from the United States government.

On 25 July 1978, Commonwealth Day, two dissidents were assassinated by police, and five years later a cover-up of the incident was exposed. Romero Barceló lost the 1984 elections in the aftermath of the investigations. From 1993 to 2001 he served as resident commissioner of Puerto Rico and took up residency in Washington D.C. He was not re-elected for a third term, being defeated by Luis Fortuno, but he remained active in the Progressive Party of Puerto Rico (PNP).

See alsoPuerto Rico, Political Parties: Overview .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Carlos Romero Barceló, Statehood Is for the Poor (1974).

Antonio Quiñones Calderón, El Libro de Puerto Rico (1983), pp. 58-59.

Manuel Suárez, Requiem on Cerro Maravilla: The Police Murders in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Government Coverup (1987).

Additional Bibliography

Barbosa Muñiz, José. El fracaso de la administración de Carlos Romero Barceló. Rio Piedras: Barbosa Muñiz, 1988.

                                     Christopher T. Bowen